Wedding Bells

Written by: Fujiwara Zakuro

Chapter 2: A Familiar Foe

Kouji was taking Izumi shopping the next day. Izumi was browsing through the cosmetics section and then the lingerie. Kouji just smiled and waited for his wife-to-be to finish selecting her products and such.

A while later, Izumi was still in the aisle browsing the products. Kouji was getting restless. He went up to his fiancée. "Izumi, I'm going to take a walk. We'll meet each other by the mall's fountain, okay?" Kouji said. Izumi nodded and gave him a quick peck on his right cheek. Kouji let Izumi return to her skimpy lingerie browsing and headed out of the store.

He strolled throughout the first floor without finding anything that interested him, so he decided to take the stairs onto the second floor. He enjoyed the faint rays of sun that poured out of the roof window. Kouji just stood there for a while and let himself be soaked by the bright rays.

Meanwhile, Izumi had pick out a very seductive red piece of lingerie for herself. She dumped it into her basket along with several lipsticks and eyeliners. Ah yes, she was the most fashionable woman that could ever roam the earth.

Kouji had continued his walk in the mall. He approached a music store and decided to check it out. He listened to a few samples and examined a few CDs. The music store was beginning to get boring for Kouji, so he emerged from it with a newly bought CD.

Kouji had decided to go to the mall's fountain, where he'd meet Izumi. She wasn't there, so he just sat at the edge of the fountain and admired it beauty. The fountain had a statue of a voluptuous mermaid and a handsome merman. The merman helped the mermaid carry a vase that was tipping downwards. The vase was where all the water poured out.

Kouji looked into the fountain and saw many pennies. The many customers at that mall would flick pennies into the gorgeous fountain after making a wish. Most fountains would be used like that, but Kouji didn't believe in such a thing. So there he was, sitting on the fountain's edge, waiting impatiently for his fiancée.

Izumi was still looking for more things to buy. Her shopping basket was getting pretty heavy, but that didn't slow Izumi down. She knew she had to meet Kouji at the fountain, but wanted to get just a few more products.

At the fountain, Kouji was pacing already. He was getting even more impatient and restless that he wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings. Suddenly, he lightly bumped into a woman. She was average height and had a very familiar appearance. She was raven-headed and had emerald eyes.

The woman looked at Kouji and muttered, "You..." Kouji apologized to the stranger, but she said nothing. "Excuse me, but do I know you? You look very familiar." Kouji stated. The woman sneered and chuckled. Kouji asked what was so funny, but the woman just kept on chuckling.

"Don't you remember me?" the woman asked when she finally stopped her chuckles. Kouji shook his head. He was getting annoyed. "Don't you remember college? I was the girl who ripped you relationship into pieces." The woman laughed. Kouji's eyes widened as the sad memories flooded back. "Carla..." he muttered. "Oh yes, it's me! Fancy meeting you here!" Carla exclaimed. Kouji saw in her eyes that she had become a venomous snake just ready to strike another painful attack against him.

"What are you doing here?" Kouji asked suspiciously. Carla sneered again and sarcastically replied, "The usual. I'm just here to ruin young couples' romances." Kouji shook with rage. Her sarcasm was getting on his nerves. In fact, just the fact that she was there was unnerving. "Look, just leave Izumi and me alone." Kouji said in a low voice. Carla frowned. "Izumi and you?" she said. This time, it was Kouji's turn to sneer. "Yes, Izumi and me. She's my fiancée!" Kouji explained. Carla just muttered a cuss word under her breath and stormed away.

At that very moment, Izumi appeared by Kouji's side. "Kouji, who was that woman?" she inquired. "Carla." Kouji muttered. At the mentioning of that name, Izumi filled with anger. "What is she doing here?" Izumi asked. "I don't know, but something tells me that we haven't seen that last of her." Kouji said.

AN: Thank you for all of your support and encouragement. I'll try my best to update frequently!